How to spot a toxic workplace

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How to spot a toxic workplace

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Toxic as a term has been creeping into the lexicon for a number of years. From toxic relationships to masculinity, friendships, family and more; in 2018, Oxford Dictionaries chose it as its international word of the year.

The reason toxic came out on top was less to do with numbers and more to do with the variety of contexts to which it was being applied, according to Katherine Connor Martin, Oxford’s head of U.S. dictionaries. At the time, she said the company had seen increasing interest in the word: “So many different things are tied together by the word.”

Toxic workplaces are another to add to the list, and they are on the rise. A study from this year found that 56% of white-collar professionals say their workplace is toxic, and this has motivated 60% to ‘rage apply’ for a new job.

20% blamed unmanageable workloads, and 18% said that poor work-life balance is what contributes to workplace toxicity.

“Toxic workplace cultures can very much be invisible but the knock-on effect to employee happiness is significant – from a staff members’ mental and physical safety in the workplace, to productivity levels, ideas generation and innovation,” said a spokesperson for the study.

“As a result we are increasingly seeing more ‘culture matches’ in the hiring process – where both the company and prospective employee are vocal about what kind of worker or workplace they are looking for.”

Take a step back

Before you lob the 'toxic' bomb into a conversation with your employer, it is worth taking a step back.

Is your workplace genuinely toxic, or is the issue simply one of a bad fit? A free-thinking maverick who likes to go it alone is never going to gel well with a staid corporate environment where team structure and procedure is king. In that case, move on with no hard feelings.

However, many workers are experiencing a work environment where red flags are waving all day long.

A good work environment is characterised by supportive leaders, and community, fairness, and trust between teams and their bosses. Conversely a toxic culture is defined by one where a blame culture pervades, you are constantly fighting gossip and the rumour mill, and your teammates take credit for your ideas, diminishing your input and expertise.

Absentee managers who refuse to resource their teams and treat requests to do so as a personal attack are a leading cause of toxic workplace behaviour––which inevitably trickles down to their disenfranchised reports.

If your manager is fond of belittling staff in public, and uses a tactic of hoarding information so that colleagues are left in the dark, this indicates control issues that go beyond mere communication lapses.

Lastly, if you are finding that implementing any sort of change is fraught because both individuals and teams resist change and hold necessary progress up, this is yet another sign of a dysfunctional working environment. People are not pulling together, and co-operation is at zero.

First steps to a new job

Often, the best solution is to leave and find a role that serves you. Acknowledging that you as an individual are unable to make a wholesale institutional change, is the first step in your new job hunt.

Below we have detailled three companies that are recruiting right now. You can check out many more on the Finextra Job Board.

FinCrime Subject Matter Expert (AML Advisory), Revolut, United Kingdom

Revolut is looking for a Global Subject Matter Expert with solid FinCrime experience. You will support first-line FinCrime teams in building safe, effective controls, advise on financial crime decision-making, assess and validate risks, and assist the business control function with control testing.

Additionally, you will be working with product teams to perform financial crime risk assessments related to CDD and KYC, AML/CTF transaction monitoring, sanctions and PEP screening or fraud, and supporting the design and development of innovative financial crime controls.

Interested? Get full details now.

Technical Risk & Control Manager, Starling Bank, London

Starling Bank is looking for a Technical Risk & Control Manager who is passionate about making a difference in the development of the risk and control space, with a drive for facilitating risk-based decision making for the implementation of solutions to prevent disruption to services.

You will be responsible for executing day-to-day activities ensuring the robustness and continued improvement of our control environment with a specific focus on the continued preparedness and timely execution of the organisation in relation to risk and control management and standard accreditation activities.

See all the responsibilities here.

Managing Director SFS UK, Spendesk, London

Spendesk is seeking a highly qualified and experienced Managing Director based in the UK to lead the operations of Spendesk Financial Services Ltd, a key entity of the Spendesk group.

You will be expected to bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the role, and will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the company's operations in the UK, including but not limited to managing a team of experts, ensuring compliance with all relevant regulations and requirements, and driving growth and profitability. You will need a proven track record of managing payment operations for a UK based PSP, of which three or more years is in a senior management position.

Apply for this job today.

For thousands more roles across tech visit the Finextra Job Board today.

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This content has been created by the Finextra editorial team with inputs from subject matter experts at the funding sponsor.